At a press conference today, The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, and His Excellency Dr Ali Gomaa, presented the communiqué from ‘A Common Word’ conference, a meeting of leading Muslim and Christian clerics and scholars. It concludes with these words
Looking towards the future, mindful of the crucial importance of education and inspired by our presence in a great seat of learning, we have also been keen to identify specific ways in which our encounter might be broadened and deepened. We have, therefore, committed ourselves to the following over the coming year:
· To identify and promote the use of educational materials, for all age-groups and in the widest possible range of languages, that we accept as providing a fair reflection of our faiths
· To build a network of academic institutions, linking scholars, students and academic resources, with various committees and teams which can work on shared values
· To identify funds to facilitate exchanges between those training for roles of leadership within our religious communities
· To translate significant texts from our two traditions for the use of the other.
As we prepare to return, each to our own countries and contexts, we resolve to act on the oft-repeated desire to find the means of ensuring that the two letters we have discussed and the wonderful fruits of our time together are spread amongst our co-religionists; that the spirit of collaboration, mutual respect and desire for greater understanding may be the mark of our relationship for the benefit of all humankind.
To God be the glory for that which has been achieved in these days together, and may God guide us in the right path as we carry forward the work begun.
The full text is available at www.archbishopofcanterbury.org/2005
